What’s Working

In the mist of the Penguins hot streak, it seems important to note everything that has been working. In fact, noting everything that has been working throughout the hot streak will also help me to catch up with those mid-year, All-Star game summaries that I never bothered to do earlier this season.

The Power Play—When your power play climbs to the top 5 in the league while clicking at a rate of 30%+, something important is working. With the offensive talent the Penguins can ice, it seemed a matter of time until the power play clicked as it should. Jordan Staal’s presence in front of the net during 5 on 3’s is something that is working.

Sidney Crosby—Although Crosby has cooled off in his most recent games, he was on fire at the beginning of the streak. Crosby looked as though he were going to run away with the NHL scoring title (and he still very well might). He was the best player on the ice, the best player on his team, the best player in the league, and the best player in the world. And when the best player in the world is on your side, good things tend to happen.

The Second Line—Say what you will of Michel Ouellet (I have often bemoaned his skating stride, for one), but the second line has been clicking lately. Malkin is free to play his natural position as center, and Staal’s shooting percentage is obscene. With Malkin passing pucks and Staal and Ouellet’s ability to finish plays, well, good things tend to happen when two lines can score.

The Energy Lines—The third and fourth lines have the ability to cycle and control the play with an aggressive forecheck. Therrien is not afraid to put these lines on the ice and regularly rolls four lines. These are the players who come to the defense of teammates, provide checks and body checks or a timely goal at just the right moment, and they make the Penguins a complete team.

Mark Eaton—Eaton’s return to the lineup, his play alongside Sergei Gonchar, let’s just say that it is nice to have a steady, solid defenseman who can log the same minutes as Gonchar and is consistent and steady.

Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney—Say what you will for both of these players, because they’re easy to criticize when things go bad, as things tend to go bad when it comes to great risk, great reward offensive defensemen like these two. I said at the beginning of the season that Gonchar’s primary job this season was Malkin and anything on the ice I would take as an added bonus. Well, Gonchar’s play on the power play, his chemistry on the ice with Malkin, and of course, Malkin’s terrific overall play, mean that I don’t have many complaints about Gonchar this season. And as for Whitney, well, sure he might still make a pinch that goes bad every once in awhile. On the whole, though, when I see Whitney, I see a young defenseman who is already an elite offensive talent and who is morphing into a defenseman who knows more about playing defense than he once did. Gonchar and Whitney’s offensive contributions to the Pens’ recent run cannot be overlooked.

Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending—Marc-Andre Fleury has been hot lately. He has kept the team in games until the offense kicks in, and at moments when a defensive play or a save went awry, his teammates have helped to even the score. Fleury is now able to keep his team in games and give his team a chance to win every game, and during the hot streak, he’s provided the crucial save at the critical moment. And for a team with explosive offensive talent like that of the Pens, they need a goaltender who can play the way Fleury has during the hot streak.

Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry—There are specific players I haven’t mentioned by name. They have names like Ruutu, Talbot, Armstrong, and yes, even names like Scuderi and Orpik. They are players who have played their roles to perfection. In the case of the defense that I bemoaned last year for being AHL-caliber, they have not strayed beyond the limit of their abilities. In the team’s chemistry, in third and fourth liners who can chip in a goal as necessary, in defensemen who can play decent defense without committing game-altering errors, in everyone on the team striving to improve, the Penguins have a really, really good thing going. They have young players and an old man (Mark Recchi in hockey terms), all of whom genuinely believe their team has a legitimate shot. And chemistry—the way the team may squander a lead and still come back, the way the team never quits or gives up and comes to the defense of each other—is invaluable come playoff time. And of course, good chemistry fuels winning, and winning fuels good chemistry. It’s a win-win.

Mark Recchi—Say what you will for the team’s oldest player, who actually does things the other players don’t like take off optional game day skates, but his experience has to help at this time of year. So, too, does the fact that he’s contributing on the scoresheet and knows where to be when Sidney Crosby is passing the puck.

The development of the young players—Frankly, it has been pure, plain, pleasure to watch Jordan Staal morph into a second-line offensive threat in addition to his steady defensive presence and penalty killing. Watching Evgeni Malkin strong arm defenders a la Jaromir Jagr is likewise enjoyable. Even watching the Penguins’ youngsters, those who ply their trade on the third and fourth lines, is fun because I am watching kids, for the most part, become legitimate NHL players. No longer is the most of the Penguins roster, save for elite stars, composed of borderline NHL/AHL players. It is fun to watch the development of kids who will not be superstars but may yet carve out 10 year careers as reliable, blue collar NHL players.

Winning, winning, winning. In case I haven’t mentioned this yet, winning is really, really fun. I like reading about wins in the newspaper. I love the feeling I get when the Pens win. I can only imagine that the players, by breed and training, fierce competitors, likewise embrace winning as much as I do.
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